Half-Life: Alyx releases at the end of the month and up until now, we’ve only seen some screenshots and one trailer. Today, Valve and IGN released 4 different gameplay videos showcasing the environment, mechanics, and other situations VR players will find themselves in.
For starters, IGN released 9 minutes of unedited gameplay from the second chapter of Half-Life: Alyx. We see Alyx walking through some traditional rundown environments such as a train station but what stands out is how interactive the world is. You can seemingly touch, move, and interact with anything including corpses, boxes, and more.
At one point, the player finds a hard hat and places it on their head. It seems like just a goofy touch but later, when they walk under a ceiling barnacle, the barnacle latches on to the hard hat and the player is able to continue unharmed. Valve seems to be pushing a linear narrative with all kinds of gameplay possibilities to make sure it’s dynamic, engaging, and fun.
The other Half-Life: Alyx videos from Valve show a mix of some of the same level that IGN showcased (but it’s different footage) as well as unseen levels. We get a brief glimpse of the gun customization, some classic Half-Life tools such as the health dispenser, and combat against the Combine.
We also get a look at the different locomotion settings ranging from teleporting and continuous which uses analog sticks for “traditional” movement. Also, there’s a pretty killer metal score to compliment the gunfight between Alyx and the Combine soldiers.
All in all, it looks like Half-Life: Alyx will be one of the best VR games we’ve seen to date.
Half-Life: Alyx releases exclusively on Steam for on March 23rd, 2020. The game will only be playable in VR but will work with all SteamVR-compatible headsets such as Oculus, Valve Index, and more.
